Major Alaskan Mountain Ranges

Alaska Range

The Alaska Range is perhaps the most well-known mountain range in Alaska. It is home
to Denali National Park and the giant mountain itself, Denali (you may know it better
by its white-man name, Mt. McKinley). This mountain range is one of Alaska's largest,
starting at Alaska's eastern border with Canada, arcing across the north of Southcentral
Alaska, ending to the west of the Kenai Peninsula.

On November 3, 2002, a massive 7.9 earthquake was caused by a fault running through
the Alaska Range. For several weeks afterwards, thousands of aftershocks were recorded.
Due to Alaska's sparse population, earthquake damage was only about $20 million.

If you measure from base to peak, you'd find that Denali is much taller than
Everest. Denali's base is only about 2,000 feet (610 meters) above sea level,
whereas Everest's base is around 14,000 feet (4,267 meters). In fact, Denali is one of
the most massive mountains in the world.

Highest Peak: Denali, 20,320 feet (6,194 meters)

Notable Mountains:

Denali, tallest mountain on North American continent; measured base-to-peak, one
of the tallest mountains in the world.

Spurr, an active volcano west of Anchorage that erupted in 1992 and covered
Anchorage with a thin layer of ash.

Aleutian Range

The Aleutian Range begins on the western shores of Cook Inlet, across from the city of
Kenai on the Kenai Peninsula. It extends to the southwest along the Alaska Peninsula,
eventually entering the Pacific Ocean and forming a chain of islands over a thousand
miles long. These islands gradually arc northwards towards Siberia.

Collision between continental plates has created a 1,400 mile (2,253 km) chain of
active volcanoes in this mountain range.

Highest Peak: Redoubt, 10,197 feet (3,108 meters)

Notable Mountans:

Iliamna and Redoubt, two active volcanoes.

Katmai, a volcano that erupted in 1912, throwing about 33 million tons of rock
into the air over two days. Ash and dust was blown as high as 25 miles (40 km) into
the air.

Brooks Range

The Brooks Range is Alaska's northernmost mountain range, all of it being located above
the arctic circle. This range stretches about 720 miles (1,159 km) from Alaska's
eastern border with Canada to the Chukchi Sea off Alaska's west coast. Despite their
northerly location and cool temperatures, there are few glaciers in this mountain range;
this area is rather arid so not enough snow falls during the winter to create large
glaciers. The largest glaciers in the Brooks Range aren't much longer than file miles
(eight km).

Highest Peak: Mt. Isto, 9,050 feet (2,758 meters)

Notable Mountans:

Arrigetch Peaks, considered by many to be the most dramatic peaks of the western
Brooks Range, perhaps the most dramatic in all of Alaska.

Chugach Mountains

The Chugach Mountains begin near the Alaskan panhandle and form the coast along much of
Southcentral Alaska. These mountains contain the greatest concentration of glacial ice
in Alaska. As the warm, moist winter air off the ocean meets these mountains and cools,
it creates some of the highest snowfall in Alaska. During the winter of 1952-1953,
Thompson Pass near Valdez received about 81 feet (25 meters) of snow.

A major fault in Prince William Sound is contributing to the ongoing formation of these
mountains. In 1964, this fault slipped, creating the Good Friday Earthquake that severely
damaged Anchorage and destroyed several smaller communities including Chenega, Seward, and
Valdez.

Highest Peak: Mount Marcus Baker, 13,176 feet (4,016 meters)

Notable Mountains:

Alyeska, Alaska's most popular ski resort.

Girls Mountain, site of Worthington Glacier, Alaska's most accessible glacier.

Coast Mountains

This mountain range is appropriately named, most of it lying along the coastal areas of
Southeastern Alaska. A line drawn from peak-to-peak of many of these mountains forms the
boundary between Alaska and British Columbia.

Flat land is hard to come by in this area. Many communities such as Juneau and
Ketchikan are built on the sides of mountains. Other communities like Skagway occupy
narrow valley floors. The terrain is so rough and rugged that there are no roads to
connect the communities; all travel is by air or boat.

As the Coast Mountains enter the ocean they create the Alexander Archipelago as well as
the other thousand or so islands that make up Southeast Alaska. These islands protect the
coastal parts of the mainland from the rough waters of the Gulf of Alaska.

Highest Peak: Kate's Needle, 10,023 feet (3,055 meters)

Kenai Mountains

The Kenai Mountains cover all but the northern and western portions of the Kenai
Peninsula. Many glacier-carved lakes dot the Kenai Peninsula, including Kenai Lake,
Upper Russian Lake, and Trail Lakes. Many recreational hiking trails cut through the
Kenai Mountains.

A popular attraction in the Kenai Mountians is the fjords created where the east coast
of the Kenai Peninsula meets Prince William Sound.

Highest Peak: Truuli Peak, 6,612 feet (2,015 meters)

Kuskokwim Mountains

The Kuskokwim Mountains begin in the interior west of Fairbanks. They run to the
southwest where they stop at Bristol Bay. These mountains aren't as impressive as many
of Alaska's other ranges, although they are no less rugged. The reason that visitors rarely
visit these mountains is location--there are no roads to this area and major communities
are few.

Highest Peak: Mount Oratia, 4,658 feet (1,420 meters)

Nulato Hills

The Nulato Hills are bordered on the east by the Yukon River and the west by Norton
Sound. This area is sparsely populated and the hills are small so visitors are few.

Highest Peak: Debauch Mountain, 3,411 feet (1,040 meters)

Notable Mountains:

Asaacaraq, the first large hill one comes to when traveling up the Yukon River.

Ogilvie Mountains

Almost all of the Olgilvie Mountains are in Canada, only a small part crosses the
Alaska-Canada border. The highest peaks on the Alaska side are barely over 4,000 feet
(1,219 meters); just across the border the mountains rise to 6,000 feet (1,829 meters).

Highest Named Peak: Three Castle Mountain, 3,440 feet (1,049 meters)

Highest Peak: Unnamed peak, 4,515 feet (1,376 meters)

St. Elias Mountains

The St. Elias Mountains begin on mainland Alaska south of the Wrangell Mountains and east
of the Chugach Mountains. From there, they extend towards the southeast along the coast of
the panhandle. About 60% of the St. Elias Mountains are in Alaska, the rest is in
Canada.

The St. Elias Mountains are the highest coastal mountains in the world. Like the
Coast Mountains, there is little flat land so much of the area is
uninhabitable.

Seward Peninsula mountains

The southern half of the Seward Peninsula is covered by rolling hills and small mountains.
Although the mountains are seemingly all part of a single system, there is no name that
collectively refers to them all. There are four names applied to different areas of
these mountains--Kigluaik Mountains, Bendeleben Mountains, Darby Mountains, and York
Mountains. Of these, the Kigluaik Mountains are the highest and most rugged.

If you're familiar with the Johnny Horton song 'North to Alaska', you may recall him singing
about a mountain 'just a little southeast of Nome'. Although there are several mountains
on the Seward Peninsula, Nome is located on the southern shore; you'll find Norton Sound
to be the only thing 'just a little southeast'.

Highest Peak: Mt. Osborn, 4,714 feet (1,437 meters)

Talkeetna Mountains

The Talkeetna Mountains are a stretch of long-extinct coastal volcanos that got pushed inland
through millions of years of geologic activity. These mountains connect the Chugach Mountains
to the Alaska Range.

Although not the most impressive mountain range in Alaska, the Talkeetna Mountains are
frequently visited due to their close proximity to Anchorage. The unpaved Hatcher Pass Road
crosses a high pass near the outskirts of the mountains. The Glenn Highway parallels these
mountains for many miles.

Highest Peak: Sovereign Mountain, 8,800 feet (2,682 meters)

Wrangell Mountains

The Wrangell Mountains is a block of mountains sandwiched by the Chugach and St. Elias
Mountains on the south and the Alaska Range's Mentasta Mountains on the north. Several
active volcanoes, including Mt. Wrangell and Mt. Drum, are easily visible to one travelling
east to Glenallen.

Highest Peak: Mt. Blackburn, 16,930 feet (5,160 meters)

Notable Mountains:

Mt. Wrangell, Alaska's largest (14,163 feet / 4,317 meters) active volcano and one
of the world's largest andesitic volcanos.

Yukon-Tanana Uplands

The Yukon-Tanana Uplands consist of a number of low mountain ranges including the White
Mountains and the Ray Mountains. The highest mountains in these uplands top out around
6,000 feet (1,829 meters).